Little Sitting Duck
by OctoberLumos
Summary: After Katniss leaves for the Hunger Games, Prim is left at home to watch her sister fight in place of her. All of this story is through Prim's POV.
1. Chapter 1

Little *Sitting* Duck

I own nothing Hunger Games. I am just a fan with a few ideas and good stories up my sleeve. Please read and review! Feedback is my favorite!

My mom and I are taken out of the room where Katniss is. We are escorted out of the building and I can't stop crying. My mom is holding back tears when she bends down and looks into my eyes.

"Lets go home Prim."

"No!-" she cuts me off.

"No, Prim! Lets go home. Lets go. We have to go home now." she pulls me by the hand and I follow. My head hangs heavy, and my breathing is deep as I take the longest walk ever, back home without my sister.

When we get to the house, mom goes to her room and shuts the door. I know she wants to cry, and she doesn't want me to see, so I leave her alone and go straight to Katniss' room. I break down again. As I sit on her bed crying, I think to myself how strange it is that she was in this room only a few hours ago. She slept in this bed last night.. Maybe that was the last time she'd sleep in it.. Maybe that was the last time she'd be in this room. Or this house.. The thought of Katniss never returning home hurts so badly that I cry until I don't have any tears left.

*knock knock* "Prim?" Mom calls from outside of Katniss' room. I must have fallen asleep. It's clearly evening time by the looks of the shaddows being casted through the windows.

"Yeah?" I reply quietly.

She opens the door and immediately, her body freezes up. Her expression is fearful. I can tell she's just realized what I realized earlier about Katniss not returning.

"I uhh..." She isn't even looking at me. "Dinner is.. Dinner uhm. It's.. It's ready. So come... Come eat." Her eyes were locked on my dad's old jacket that Katniss loves to wear.

I get off of her bed and my head is pounding from all of the crying. We eat the stew my mom has prepared in complete silence. The only noises to be heard were the sounds of spoons scraping our bowls. After dinner, mom and I clean up and I go to take a bath. I place the clothes I wore today neatly on the chair in the bathroom and I unbraid my hair, and it's in crimps and waves the way Katniss' hair looks when she takes out her braid. I take a quick bath, dress, and then crawl into her bed. Tomorrow I will see Katniss on tv. Who knows what she'll look like after the capital gets their hands on her. I'm sure she'll look beautiful. I try to imagine what she'll look like as I drift off to sleep.

"KATNISS!" I wake up the way I woke yesterday morning before the reaping. In a terrible scream from a nightmare. In this nightmare, Katniss was in the arena running for her life and she saw me hiding in the bushes. She stops when she reaches me and she hugs me and tells me that she'll keep me safe so we can go home. And when she pulls away from me to tell me something else, another tribute decapitates her with a sword. Her blood splattered across my face and pouring into my lap.

I rub the tears from my eyes when I sit up in the bed. I take a few really deep breaths and I sit and wonder why my mother hasn't come to see why I was screaming... Maybe she was still asleep. She probably had nightmares too.

I get dressed and braid my hair into two braids like yesterday... Like Katniss did when she was 12. My mom is sitting at the kitchen table with some stale bread and honey and a glass of milk from my goat, Lady. By the looks of it, she's already eaten her breakfast. I sit next to her and watch her face as I eat. It isn't until I'm nearly finished that she looks at me.

"We have to go into town today.. We need food for this week." She says.

"Gale is bringing us game. Katniss said so, remember?" I say while taking the last bite of bread and sucking the honey off of my thumb.

"Well.. We'll see. But I do need to get food anyway. We can leave in a little bit."

"But we have to be home to see her!"

"We will." my mom replies simply.

"But what if we miss it?"

"We wont. Everyone in town is going to be watching it. Get some of your goat's milk so we can have something to trade."

I milk Lady and get a half a bucket of milk out of her. As we walk through town, I see a patch of wild flowers and pick a few of them. My mom is carrying the milk, and I've got the flowers.

"Can we stop in at the bakery first?"

My mom hesitates, eyes still forward, and then she nods. I know she didn't answer right away because going to the bakery would be sad. It's the Mellark's bakery and Peeta and Katniss are going to have to try and kill one another. The thought frightens me, but I still want to go there.

We arrive and they aren't busy. When we walk in, Mrs. Mellark nods curtly but says nothing and goes to the kitchen.

"Mr. Mellark?" I make sure to speak quietly and be very respectful to him. His expression is kind and sympathetic when he sees that it's me and my mom who have come into his store.

"Hello, Primrose. What can I do for you today?" he gently pats my shoulder.

"I was hoping I could trade you milk from my goat, in exchange for a loaf of your bread."

"Well.. I don't think I need any goat milk..." He says kindly.

"Oh." is all I say.

"But I would love some of those wild flowers to brighten up my shop." He says with a smile. His smile makes me smile back. I hand them to him and he picks out a nice big, hot loaf of bread and he packages it up in brown packaging. He walks over to my mom, gives her the packaged bread and says "I wonder how much they've changed the way they look."

I can see my mother gulp down her spit and she clears her throat before she speaks.

"I don't know... Usually they look the same.. But somehow, unrecognisable."

"Well, we'll all be watching tonight.. I wish you two the best." He turns to me and says with a smile, "Now go out there and trade that milk for something wonderful. And enjoy the bread!" and he handed me a sugar cookie. I smiled and bit into it. My mouth filled with saliva and I gobbled the cookie down. It was delicious.

I know Mr. Mellark loves his sons, but I can tell that if he had one, he'd adore his daughter. I know he went in to say goodbye to Katniss, but I wonder what he said to her...

Mom and I leave and go look for good trades. We eat some of Greasy Sae's stew for lunch and head back out to trade. We finally trade our milk for some medical herbs and bandages and then head home. As people pass us, they give nods, look at us with sad expressions, or they just look away quickly.

When we get home, there are random flowers on our doorstep. Along with other small gifts like, a covered bowl of broth and veggies, seeds, grains, and 2 squirrels with a note attached that reads "I'll come prepare these tonight for you. We can watch the show over dinner. See you around 6pm. -Gale" My mom starts crying quietly while we pick up the gifts and bring them inside. It's 5:45pm, so Gale will be here soon. The show starts at 7pm. I help my mom put the new items away and Gale arrives at 6 as he said he would.

"Hey there." he says as he lets himself in.

"Hi Gale" I reply. My mom just nods and gives him a half smile. Gale gives me a hug and asks me what we got today. I tell him everything that happened and what we got and he smiles.

"I went hunting first thing this morning when the sun came up." He tells my mom.

"What about your family?" she asks while cleaning the fresh veggies.

"I got them a few squirrels too. They're all set and my mom understands why I'm here." He cleans the squirrels while I set the table. Dinner is cooked and ready by 7. We sit down at the table and turn to the television. The show starts and the table is silent. We all want to see the other tributes so that we'll know what Katniss is up against. But this part of the show is only the arrival of the tributes. The interviews aren't tonight.

As they are wheeled in on their carriages, the camera moves to the live audience. Strange looking people in bright colors. Their skin is dyed. Their hair is dyed. Their clothes are insane. Some of them are beautiful like humans that want to be butterflies, and others look like monsters that are trying to be butterflies.

"There she is!" my eyes wide as my sister rides in on a horse drawn carriage. Her beautiful black suit is all lit up with fire. She and Peeta look amazing. Katniss' hair is in twists and braids, her eyes have makeup on them and her lips with a gloss across them. She is beautiful.

My mom covers her mouth with both of her hands and her eyes fill with tears. Gale just watches.

Peeta and Katniss are now holding hands and I can't help but smile. Gale leans back all the way in his chair and clears his throat. President Snow Welcomes the tributes to the games, makes a few announcements, and then they are on their way out the door again. When they are off the screen, my eyes long to see Katniss again.

My mom thanks Gale for coming over and helping with dinner. They walk to the door and they're talking quietly, so I stand up and hide from them and listen.

"Gale.. I can't thank you enough for what you're doing for us.. Prim and I can't hunt and I'm afraid we'd starve without you." my moms says.

"She'd do the same for my family if our roles were reversed. And it's really no problem. Even if she didn't ask me, I'd still do it. You guys are family to me." Gale replies.

They stop talking for a moment and then Gale calls out to me. I go over to him and he says, "I wont be here with you to watch the interviews. But I'll bring some game by tomorrow. Ok?" I nod. He pats my head playfully and walks out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

CH.2

It's been 4 days since I've seen my sister on tv. The day starts out slowly. I milk Lady, clean the house a little, and then I walk around town by myself. Normally my mom wouldn't let me walk around alone, but I think she just wants some alone time so she can express her feelings without worrying me. Although, I wouldn't worry. I understand exactly how she's feeling. "Maybe I should tell her that so she'll feel better about crying around me." I think to myself.

As I'm walking, I hear whispers. They're talking about me. Some of them point, women put their hands over their chests and lower their heads. I should get used to these reactions. When I walk into Greasy Sae's for some lunch, I sit down at the bar and moments later a boy whose my age walks up to me.

"Hey Prim." he says as he take the seat next to me.

"Hey, Quin. " His real name is Quinoa, like the grain, but we just call him Qiuin. He's in my class back at school, but we're currently out for the summer.

"I saw your sister the other night on tv." he says while Greasy Sae walks up to us.

"What can I get for ya?" she asks. We order stew and water.

"I didn't know Peeta Mellark was her boyfriend." he finishes.

"He's not. Why would you think he is?" I ask.

"Well, they held hands and he looked at her like he loves her." he shrugs.

"He did?" Greasy Sae brings us our water and stew.

"Yeah. That's what my mom said, anyway. And I kind of think she's right..." We eat in silence as I think about what Quin has just told me.

After lunch, we walk around together and talk. He avoids talking about the Hunger Games, which I'm thankful for. I'm not ready to talk about it like it's no big deal. Especially because Katniss isn't in the arena yet.

After about 3 and a half hours, Quin walks me home. "Thanks for letting me walk around with you." he says with a half smile.

"Thanks for keeping me company." I reply.

"The interviews are tonight... Do you want to meet up tomorrow afternoon and talk about them?"

"I don't have anything to trade for lunch again.." I say as I look down at my shoes.

"Me neither. We can just meet up in the afternoon and talk. We can go to the meadow by the fence. But we won't go past it. We can just sit there and talk."

"Yeah, we can do that. But we can't look suspicious while we're by the fence. I don't want the Peace Keepers to get upset or anything."

"No, we don't want that. But I'll meet you here at 3 tomorrow. ok?" he half smiles again.

"Yeah, 3 sounds good." I smile back. Only a little smile though.

"Ok, great! I'll see you tomorrow then!" he shouts as he heads home.

I go inside and let my mom know I'm back. I take a bath and then go to the table to watch the interviews with my mom. All of the tributes look beautiful as they walk on stage to talk with the bizarre looking Caesar Flickerman. He's a really good host because he can sense when things are taking a turn for the worst, or just getting awkward, and he makes the show funny. He's in complete control.

The tributes talk about their strategies without exposing their talents. The first two districts seem very determined, which frightens me. My mom makes small noises in the back of her throat as the tributes come and go. When the girl from District 11 comes on, my mom gasps loudly and covers her mouth. Rue is her name. She's 12 and small like me. Her chances of survival don't seem very good. I turn to my mom and she's tearing up. I know she's thinking "That could have been Prim up there." but I look back at Rue. She's going to be trouble for Katniss. My sister wont be able to resist when she sees Rue. She'll big sister her. Katniss could kill.. But she could never kill someone so young. Someone that reminds her of me.

"There she is!" I shout when Katniss come out after the boy from 11 leaves.

"She looks beautiful." my mom whispers.

Katniss is wearing a gorgeous red dress. Her hair is pinned up and her eyes sparkle when the stage lights hit them. Mom and I are completely silent as the interview goes on. Katniss is clearly nervous, because Caesar has to keep the questions coming so it doesn't become awkward. I'm not embarrassed of her because I know she's trying. I can't imagine how scary it must be knowing that the world is watching her right now.

She stands up and twirls around, and the bottom of her dress is engulfed in those gorgeous flames from a few nights ago. The audience goes wild, and my mom and I are mesmerized. When she sits back down and the audience quiets down, Caesar thanks her for showing him her flames.

And then he asks her about me.

"I told her that I'd try to win... That I'd try to win for her." she says.

"And try you will."

My mom is silently crying and I start crying too.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Katniss Everdeen, the GIRL ON FIRE!" he shouts and the audience is on their feet, going wild again.

When she walks off, I want to shout for her to come back. I miss her terribly. Peeta comes on last and he knows exactly what he's doing. He isn't shy or nervous like Katniss. He could host a show if he wanted to! That's how good he is. Caesar and Peeta are cracking jokes, and then Peeta will be very charming. The audience loves him. Caesar asks Peeta if he's got a girlfriend back home and Peeta says he doesn't. Caesar pushes him on and Peeta admits that he's got a crush on someone. This peaks my interest for two reasons. One being that Peeta is from my district, and most likely, I'll know the girl he's talking about. Two, what if Quin is right? What if Peeta actually does like my sister?

"I don't think winning would help me very much." Peeta says.

That answers my question.

"Because she came here with me."

My mom yelped. A huge smile plays across my face and I grab my mom's arm. After Peeta leaves the stage, Caesar thanks the audience, tells them he'll see them at the Games, and the program shuts off.

"Can you believe it, Mom?" The smile is still on my face.

"I.. I don't know! Does Katniss know about this?" she asks with her eyes still on the (now blank) screen.

"If she didn't, then she does now, I guess!" I say while standing up and dancing around the kitchen.

"Oh no..."

"What is it, mom?" I stop dancing and smiling.

"He can't love her.. If he loves her, that will kill her."

"Wha... What do you mean?" I twiddle my thumbs together nervously.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything. Time for bed, Prim." She walks over to me and kisses my forehead.

I go to Katniss' bed and climb in. I keep pondering what my mom said...

The next morning I wake up to Buttercup, my cat, pawing at my stomach. He's probably hungry.

My dreams last night were filled with Katniss and Peeta in the arena. Katniss was wearing her dress from the interview and Peeta was begging her not to kill him.

I go to the kitchen and my mom has left me a note.

"Prim, Gale is coming by for lunch. I'm at his house now because his little brother needs stitches. I would have had you come along, but I didn't want to wake you. See you for lunch. -Mom"

"Well, I guess it's just you and me for the next 2 hours, Buttercup." I say while looking down at him.

He meows at me to remind me that he's hungry. I feed him some left over veggies. He doesn't really like them, but he eats them anyway.

By noon, my mom and Gale are back.

"Did you see Katniss last night?" I say while running towards Gale.

"Yep. I did." he says.

"Didn't she look beautiful in that dress!"

Gale give a little smile but doesn't give me an answer.

"How about that Peeta Mellark?" he says. There's something strange about his tone.

"He has a crush on Katniss!" I say enthusiastically.

"Yep. That's what he said."

My mom says nothing while she starts preparing lunch in the kitchen. Gale brushes past me to help her with lunch.

"You know, I think Katniss could get something out of this Peeta in love stuff..." Gale says while plucking a quail.

"What's that?" I ask.

"I think she could play off this love thing. She can pretend she loves him too while they're in the arena, and then they'll both survive right until the end, right? And then, she'll have him so close and he'll think that she's madly in love with him and BAM! She kills him and wins The Games. It's that easy."

My mom turns around quick and smacks his arm. I've never seen my mom with such a mad expression on her face.

"Katniss would never do that, Gale. She'd never trick someone like that." I say angrily.

I go into Katniss' room until I'm called in for lunch. We eat veggie soup and save the quail for dinner. When lunch is over, Gale leaves and I tell my mom that I'm meeting Quin. She tells me to stay close and be careful. I tell her I'll be back for dinner.

I know Quin wanted to come to my house to get me, but I walk towards his house anyway. When I get half way there, he's walking towards me.

"Hey, Prim! I was just on my way to your house.. It's only 2:50... I'm not late or anything.."

"I know. I'm just mad, so I left." we walk to the meddow and I tell him what Gale said.

"That's pretty rotten of him. He's probably just jealous because Katniss is his pal and everything. Anyway, she looked really pretty last night! Those flames are so neat! I wonder how they work.. Oh! And Peeta! I told you, Prim! I told you he likes her!"

"Ha ha! I know! That's all I could think of after Peeta got off stage! I kept thinking, 'How did Quin know!' but even though I like that he likes Katniss... It does worry me.. The Games, you know?"

"Yeah. That's rotten luck." he says with a frown.

We sit and talk in the meadow just far enough from the fence so if anyone walked by, we wouldn't look suspicious.

"I'm just sad that The Games aren't for another week and a half.. That's a long time for me not to see her." I say while plucking the grains from a long strand of wheat grass.

Quin reaches out and touches the end of one of my braids.

"She's going to be fine. She can hunt, she can climb trees, she's great with a bow. I bet she could even win this year." he smiles at me and drops my hair from his fingers.

"I really hope you're right, Quin... We need her... I need her."


	3. Chapter 3

CH. 3

It's the first day of The Games. A week and a half have gone by and I spent every day with Quin. He's a positive thinker, so when we talked about The Games, he always looked for what could be beneficial for Katniss. We talked about the training the tributes were probably doing, and the food they were probably eating. We also talked about Haymitch. Both of us are unsure of how well he could possibly prepare Peeta and Katniss.

The Games start at noon and go on until 3. We don't get to see everything that's happening in the arena, because then the show would be on 24/7. So it's mostly highlights after they enter the arena.

I'm sitting in my sister's bed with my knees tucked up by my chest. It's 9:40am. The thought of Katniss getting ready for The Games is running through my mind. She might be eating her last breakfast, right this moment.

"Moooom!" I shout as I start to cry. She comes in and sits on the bed, wraping her arms around me.

"Shhhh. It's ok. It's ok." She says while running her fingers through my hair. She doesn't say much else. She rocks me in her arms and I stop crying.

I follow her to the kitchen and have a glass of Lady's milk and a roll with honey.

"Gale said he's not watching today..." She says. "He told me he doesn't want to watch the first hour or so."

"Some friend he is." is what I think to myself, but I just drink my milk.

"Quin and I are going to walk around for about an hour. I will be back at 11:40." I tell my mom. She nods and goes into her room.

Quin is sitting on a bunch of chopped wood by his house when I get there.

"Hey." he says. No smile on his face.

"Hey." I reply dully.

He walks over to me, takes my hand, and we walk to the meadow that we always go to. When we get there, we sit on the boulders that are in the forest of tall grass. He lets go of my hand and hugs me before we sit.

I cry.

"I'm scared for her, Quin... I thought that... All last week, as long as she's still not at The Games, she's still alive. But now.. It's today and-" he cuts me off.

"I know, Prim. But remember what we've been saying all this time? She can win. She's fast, tough, and strong. She can outsmart them." He lets go of me and we sit on the boulders.

"I know, but I'm so worried!" I hide my face in my hands as I cry. Quin gets up and sits next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"She can do this."

After a few minutes, I've finally stopped crying.

"Mom says Gale's not watching for the first hour... I think it's because he's scared to see her fail. But a true friend would watch anyway so that they could see her succeed." I say while twiddling my thumbs.

"You're right. But do you think he thinks she'll lose? Is that way he doens't want to watch?"

"No, I don't think he thinks that.. I think he's just scared of that. But we all are! She's my sister! The only people who should be that scared are me and my mom." I'm frustrated.

"Do you need Gale to be there to watch though, Prim?"

"When he's around.. It feels like she'll trail in behind him at any moment. I can feel her when he's around... I don't know.. That's probably weird of me."

"No it isn't. She and Gale have been friends for forever. My older sister, Chrys, she's had a crush on Gale for a long time, but she says he would only smile at her and then go hang out with Katniss. I think Gale likes Katniss more than Chrys because Chrys isn't tough like Katniss."

This strangely makes me feel a little better. We talk for a while longer and try and guess what the arena will look like, and then Quin walks me back home in time for The Games to start. We hold hands as we walk.

we get to my house and he stops me at my gate.

"She can do this, Prim. She really can." I nod in response. "We can still see each other every morning before the show, but that might get a little exhausting.. So Maybe we should just watch The Games together starting tomorrow. Want to?" he asks.

"Yeah. Come to my house tomorrow and you can watch with my mom and me." He gives me one last hug and says "See you tomorrow" before heading home.

I go inside and get a cup of water. It's 11:58am and my mom is at the table. She's taking deep, heavy breaths and rubs her eyes. The tv is already on, and Caesar is warming up the audience.

"Hey, mom." I say as I take the chair next to her. She says nothing and keeps her eyes on the tv.

A few minutes pass.

The tributes are in a Simicircle around a giant metal cornucopia with tons and tons of weapons and backpacks inside. A voice counts down from 60...

"7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," the tributes are running in every direction. Some straight for the woods, others go to the supplies.

It's a blood bath. People dying left and right. The smaller tributes don't stand a chance against some of these bigger tributes like the careers.

My mom it watching with her hands over her mouth, and I'm watching through my fingers. Suddenly, there's Katniss! She's running for a backpack when she trips.

Mom and I gasp at the same time. and I cover my ears.

A tribute is about to swing a long hooked sword across her neck. Much like my nightmare.. But he falls to the ground with a knife in his back. Now I can see the girl from District 2. Clove, a career. She throws a knife at Katniss and my mom lets out a scream. But Katniss saves herself by lifting her pack to protect her face, and the knife is lodged into her pack. She runs for the woods.

My mom and I sigh with relief. I had been holding my breath the entire time she was at the cornucopia. I wonder where Peeta and Rue are.. I know they ran for the woods, but I wonder how far they've gotten..

A few more deaths make 12. None of which are my sister. As the show goes on, we see the different tributes running, hiding, seeking water, food, and higher ground. Only a few glimpses of Katniss every now and then, but the cameras are on the Careers. It's the first day of The Games and they've already formed an alliance with each other.

I look at the clock and it's already 2:55pm. Caesar has been narrorating thoughout the show, talking about what's happening and what things are. He finishes by telling us to tune in the same time tomorrow and the show ends for today.

"She made it though the day." I sigh.

"Now for the night.." Mom sighs back.

I go outside and sit in front of my house, thinking about what I just saw. Thinking about the families who've just watched their children being ripped to pieces and hacked away at.

Quin is walking towards me from the direction of his house.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Some games, huh?" he says as he sits down next to me. "Did Gale ever show up?"

"No.. I guess he probably just stayed home or something. I'm sure he'll come over at some point to check on me and my mom."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. Katniss was great though! I thought for sure she'd just run for the woods, but then she snatched that pack and the knife! Man! I couldn't sit still!" he says as he acts out his reaction while watching the show. It makes me laugh really hard for a few minutes which is nice. He sits back down next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Anyway.. I just wanted to come by to check on you and tell you that my family and I think your sister did an awesome job and we can't wait to see what she does tomorrow." he says while looking straight forward.

"I hope she can make it though the night... What if someone sneaks up on her while she's sleeping?" I ask.

"She's got that knife! If someone sneaks up on her, asleep or awake, she'll get them. She wont go down without a fight." He smiles at me.

"You're right." I give a half smile.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I promised Chrys that I'd go trade some berries that she grew for some milk." he says while standing up.

"I've got milk that I can trade you for berries." I tell him.

"You do? Do you have a cow?"

"No, I've got a goat. I can trade you milk for those berries if you want." I stand up.

"Yeah! That'd be great!"

We walk over to Lady's pin and I milk her. He gives me his sister's berries and I give him the bucket of milk.

"I'll bring you bucket back tomorrow when we watch the show together." He says with a smile.

I thank him and he leaves.

The next morning goes by quickly. Quin comes over at 11:45am and he, mom and I all sit at the table. Mom is on my left and Quin is on my right. The show begins with highlights from last night. We find out that Peeta has made and alliance with the Careers and mom and I cna't believe it. We see Katniss react to finding out about Peeta and my mom starts to cry. Then we find out that another girl was killed last night, making 13 dead. Surprisingly enough, Rue is still alive. This makes my mom and I happy.

Katniss begins to travel far away from all of the other tributes, towards the edge of the arena. Caesar makes the comment that the Game Makers won't like her being so far from the rest. He's right. Just as Katniss is resting in a tree, she is awakened by the smell of smoke. Flames are engulfing the trees surrounding her, and she jumps out of the tree she's in and runs for it. Fireballs are shooting towards her as if the Game Makers are actually trying to make her live up to her name, Girl on Fire. My mom is covering her eyes with her hands, and Quin is holding my hand under the table. My other hand is covering my mouth so that I don't scream.

BAM! A fireball hits her right in the leg. I squeeze Quins hand and he squeezes back. Katniss falls to the ground and we see a giant burn in her leg. My mom and I could mend it if she were here, but seeing her suffer and knowing that there is nothing we can do just about kills us.

Katniss is chaced by a few more fireballs and has to run for it. Finally she runs straight to the lake. She dives into it, belly first and sighs with relief from the pain in her leg.

Just then, the group of Careers and Peeta are walking along the large stones at the lake when they spot her. They make cat calls and run towards her as she thrashes through the water, ready to run for her life yet again.

I am squeezing Quins hand again, and he takes his other hand and puts it on top of mine. My mom watches though her fingers.

Katniss runs until she reaches a tree, and climbs quickly like a squirrel. The pack of Careers right on her tail, still cat calling, hooting and hollering at her. They sound like crazy animals.

Cato climbs up after her, but she's nearly at the top.

"Get her, Cato! Killer her! Kill her, Cato!" Clove and the others shout up to him as he attempts to climb up to my sister. His sword in one of his hands. But as he grabs a small branch, it breaks under his massive, muscular weight, he falls to the ground, landing on his back. Glimmer, the girl from 1 shoots an arrow at Katniss, but misses. And then Cato snatches the bow and an arrow from her, and he shoots one, again, missing my sister.

Peeta then suggests waiting her out. He says something about her having to come down at some point, or she'll starve. The others agree and prepare to set up camp under Katniss' tree. She' is trapped. Peeta looks at Katniss dead in the eye and his expression is both, apologetic and fearful. Katniss' expression is unreadable.

The night goes on and everyone sleeps, somewhat peacefully. In the morning, Katniss is awakened by a small noise in a tree not far from hers. It's Rue! She points to something above Katniss' head and then points down at the Careers. We see that what Rue is pointing to is a tracker jacker nest. Caesar explains what they are and what they do. Rue makes a sawing motion with her hand and then points down to them. Katniss nods and climbs up to the branch and begins sawing.

"Oh no." my mom whispers. Caesar's comment about these bugs being deadly in some cases, frightens us.

Katniss gets stung 4 or 5 times until the branch is finally sawed and snaps off. It falls to the ground and busts like an egg that's been dropped on the floor. The Careers awake and the tracker jackers burst out of their hive, stinging angerly at the Careers. They run for the lake as quickly as possible, swatting the bugs away from them. Glimmer, the girl from 1 doesn't make it out of range of the broken hive. She falls, screaming and jolting around on the forest floor as the bugs quickly take her life.

Katniss drops from the tree and is clearly suffering the hallucinations. She can't walk straight, as if she's very dizzy. She half crawls, half stumbles over to the girl's lumpy, disgusting, dead body and pries the bow and arrows from her grasp. Once she has them, she stumbles to get away from the scene, when suddenly Peeta runs up to her.

"KATNISS GO! GET OUTTA HER HERE! GO! RUN!" her eyes spinning around and her head bobbling over her shoulders, she starts to run. She doesn't seem to make it very far when she falls to the ground, asleep. Rue finds her and tends to her sting wounds by putting mint leaves on them. We see that the Careers are very angry when they catch up to Peeta, and Cato cuts his leg very deep with a sword. They leave Peeta to die.

I've been crying since my sister fell to the floor, but I'm crying harder now. Quin rubs my hand with his hands and my mom covers her mouth with her hands.

The redheaded girl is very clever. She watches everyone and never gets caught. She's quick and sly. We see Peeta finally get up and head to the river. Thresh, District 11, is hunting for food. The episode ends.

Mom gets up and goes to her room, shutting the door behind her. Quin lets go of my hand and I wipe my tears away.

"Thank you.." I say awkwardly.

"That's alright." he says with a smile. "I better get back home. It's close to dinner time."

I walk him out to the front gate and I give him a hug.

"Same time tomorrow?" I ask.

"Your mom.. She doesn't really comfort you during the show, does she?"

"No.. She sort of ignores me. She did that even through the interviews.." I reply.

"... Yeah. I'll be here same time tomorrow. She'll be fine tonight, Prim. She's got a little healer taking care of her." he says and he winks at me with a smile.

That makes me smile too.

"You know, Gale takes care of me by bringing my mom and I game.. But you take care of me by being there for me... I think Katniss would be really thankful for that." I say and I reach out to grab his hand for a moment.

He says nothing, but leans in to kiss my cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Quin." he waves at me and leaves. I go back inside and sit on Katniss' bed.

"She'll be fine.. She's got a little healer taking care of her..." I tell myself.


	4. Chapter 4

CH. 4

The next day, Quin comes over as planned. This time, Gale comes over too. He has game for us. Mom, Quin and I sit in our seats, and Gale tells my mom that he'll stand for a while. When the show comes on, we see that Katniss' leg is looking better from the burn medicine she'd gotten before the tracker jacker attack. She was sleeping by a log, under the watchful eye of Rue from District 11.

They don't show Peeta, but they do show the Careers. They have a huge pile of the supplies over at the cornucopia. When ever someone leaves, another always as to stay behind to keep watch over the supply pile. They show the redheaded girl sneaking around and watching the Careers very carefully. They show Thresh cleaning his game, and then it's back to Katniss. She's waking up now.

Katniss notices that she's got leaves sticking to the skin of her neck and arms, and then she sees Rue hiding behind a tree. She walks over to the tree.

"Rue?..." Rue pokes her head around the side of the tree. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." this is the voice she uses when she's talking to me.

They sit down and eat some food that Katniss had collected and they talk about what's been going on since Katniss was asleep. Rue updates her on the 2 deaths that happened.

"And, the boy from my district?" Katniss asks.

"Yeah.. He's ok." Rue says with a cheeky smile on her face. "I hear he's somewhere down by the lake... Is it true?" she asks, still smiling.

"Is what true?" Katniss replies.

"You and him!" Rue replies playfully. Katniss avoids the answer by asking about the Careers. Rue tells her about their pyramid of supplies.

"That sounds tempting!" Katniss says with a mischevious look.

Gale decides to come and sit down with us. His expression is hard.

The two of them form an alliance with each other. It's not really a spoken alliance, but everyone knows what's going on.

Katniss and Rue make a plan to trick the Careers into a trap where the girls will blow up their food so they'll have to stop puppy dog guarding, and actually come after them. Rue will light fires and Katniss will blow up the food. They go to sleep and set everything up the next morning. Rue suggests that they do a whistle to let each other know they're ok. Katniss does a four note whistle and the Mockingjays sing it back to them.

"Hey! I'll see you for supper." Katniss says as she hugs Rue.

We knew Katniss would big sister her. And we were right.

Katniss sets off and finds the pile. She hides in some bushes and waits for Rue's smoke to get the attention of the Careers. In moments, they run towards the first smoke trap. Katniss is about to step out of the bushes when suddenly, the redheaded girl is running towards the pile. Katniss looks curiously at her as if she's trying to figure out where she came from and how she knows exactly where to put her feet so that she doesn't set off the explosions.

The girl nabs a pack and runs for it. The Career that is left to keep watch doens't see her, but he hears her so he runs in that direction. Katniss then walks out from the bushes to get a better look. She seeing something and shoots at it. Her arrow hits a bag of apples and we know exactly what she's trying to do. She shoots again and her arrow tears a hole in the bag of apples. They come spilling out and as soon as they make contact with the ground, they explode. One after another. Katniss is blown backwards as the goodies are swallowed by flames.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" shouts Cato. He and the other Careers ran back when they heard the explosion. They must not have been very far away. The boy who was keeping watch is back too. Cato doesn't allow him to explain, instead he takes his head and snaps the boys neck. He's dead. Katniss runs for it to look for Rue.

She gets to the forest and sees that one of the fires isn't lit... Katniss does her four note whistle and waits for a reply...

"KATNISS! KATNISS, HELP!" screams Rue.

Katniss runs in the direction of screaming, and within moments she finds Rue, caught in a net on the forest floor.

Katniss snatches out her knife and saws the rope that's holding the net. Rue is free. Katniss hugs her and Rue looks up. Standing behind Katniss is the boy, Marvel from District one. When Katniss turns to see who Rue is looking at, he throws the spear and before Katniss can see where it's landed, she shoots an arrow and it goes through his neck.

Katniss turns around to see that the spear has gone through Rue's stomach. My mother and I burst into tears. Quin grabs my hand again. Gale stands up and walks back into the kitchen.

Rue takes the spear out from her stomach and then her knees give out and she falls into Katniss' arms. Katniss lays her down with Rue's head in her lap.

"You're ok. You're ok." Katniss says while choking on her tears. She moves the hairs that have fallen into Rue's face.

"Did you blow up the food?" Rue whispers.

"Every bit of it." Katniss says with a watery smile.

"Good." Rue says. She takes a few deep breaths and then says "Can you sing?"

Katniss sings the song that she and I used to sing.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes and when again they open, the sun will rise."

There's not a dry eye within a thousand miles. I guarantee it. Rue's eyes close and Katniss cries over her little body. After a little while, she takes the spear and throws it far from Rue's body. Then she gets up to gather flowers and she decorates Rue's body in them. When she's finished, Rue's body is covered in a blanket of beautiful flowers. Katniss stands above her and kisses her three fingers and points them to the cameras.

My mom, Quin and I kiss our fingers and point them to her. We know she's sending that kiss to District 11 for losing such a precious child in the most unfair way possible.

Katniss gets as far away from Rue's lifeless body as she can so that they can take her away. She sits and cries for a long time. The cannon fires twice. Once for Rue and the other for Marvel. The tributes faces shine on our tv screen. After about 30 minutes of catching up with the other tributes, we hear and announcement being made. It says that there can be two winners if they come from the same district, which means, district 2 or district 12 can win. We see Katniss sitting and recuperating from all of the crying and she says quietly,

"Peeta!" she then jumps up to go find him. Remembering that Rue said he was last seen down by the river, she takes the quickest path there. Katniss is a good tracker and she will probably find him in no time.

"Are you ok?" Quin whispers quiet enough so that only I can hear him.

I rub the last few tears from my eyes and nod to him. He and I haven't let go of hands since Rue.

"Peeta?" Katniss calls quietly. She looks down and sees two round eyes looking up at her.

"Oh my God! Peeta!" she says while squatting down to him and helping him up.

Peeta has camoflaged himself extremely well to where he looks like stone, dirt and moss. When he closes his eyes, he is invisible.

"Wow! He's really good!" I say with a smile.

"He's a genius." Gale says. He's mocking me. I turn to look at him, but Quin says "Don't, Prim."

Peeta shows Katniss his leg where Cato had cut him. Katniss tries to clean it as best as she can, but she's not a healer like my mom and I, so she just pours water on it.

Peeta asks her why she's helping him and she says "I'm not going to leave you." They toddle along, Peeta's arm over Katniss' shoulder, and they look for shelter. They find a cave and climb in. It's getting dark and they don't have anything to eat.

Peeta tells Katniss about the first time he saw her. He mentions that she had two braids in her hair, like I do. He says that she sang the Valley Song in her class in front of everyone. She'd never do that now. She'd be too shy to sing in a crowd of people she knows. Katniss is embarrassed by the story, but she kisses him on the cheek.

Gale clears his throat. He's still standing in the kitchen.

A beeping sound from outside draws Katniss' attention and she goes out to find a parachute. She opens the container and there's a small note that reads,

"You call that a kiss?-H" Katniss makes a funny face up at the cameras and takes the container inside the cave.

Mom and I laugh at Haymitch's comment. Gale says nothing.

"Medicine?" Peeta asks when he sees that Katniss has something in her hands. She opens it.

"Nope. Soup." Peeta reaches for the spoon but Katniss stops him.

"I'll do it." She gives him a spoonful of soup.

"That's nice." He says.

"You fed me once." She says simply.

"I still think about that... Every day." he says. He tells her about the bread and how he should have gone out in the rain to give it to her. I'm not exactly sure of what he's talking about, but I do remember wet bread for dinner once. It was after Dad died and things were bad for us.

The announcer tells the tributes that there will be a "Feast" at sunrise. There will be something everyone needs desperately.

Peeta tells Katniss not to go, and she argues. Katniss leans down and gives him a long passionate kiss on the lips. My mom gasps, and I squeeze Quin's hand. I don't know what Gale's reaction is and I don't care to.

"Now I'm really not letting you go." Peeta says to her.

"Ok. I'll stay." she says while looking into his eyes.

"Then come here" Peeta replies. Katniss lays down next to him and rests her head on his chest.

Caesar Flickerman makes a few cute comments and the show ends.

"Wow." Is all I say. Mom kisses my head, gets up and pats Gale's shoulder. Gale tells me that he will definitely be here tomorrow to watch with us and then he leaves.

A few minutes later, I walk Quin out to my front gate.

"That was pretty intense." He says.

"It was really sad... But then it wasn't sad at the end." I reply.

"Hey Prim?"

"Yeah?"

Quin steps closer to me.

"Uhm.." he waits a minute and then takes the strand of hair that's fallen from on of my braids and tucks it behind my ear. He kisses me on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Quin." I say while trying not to squeal. He waves and then heads home.

I walk inside and go straight to Katniss' room. There are a lot of emotions I need to sort out right now.


	5. Chapter 5

CH. 5

The next day, like every day, Quin and Gale come to watch the show. Gale tells my mom how hopeful he is for Katniss.

"She's done really well for so long. There are only 6 people left, including Katniss. She can do this." He says confidently.

"But it's the finale... That's the hardest part, Gale..." My mom whispers.

"You know she can do it."

"I know she can." she replies.

We sit at the table when the show starts. We see a recap of last night's show with all of the kissing and then it's back to the show.

Katniss is sitting over Peeta's sleeping body. She watches him for a few moments and then she gets up, taking her bow and arrows and she leaves the cave.

"She's going anyway? She said she wouldn't!" I say, shocked.

My mom shakes her head and covers her mouth.

Katniss arrives at the cornucopia. There is a table with 4 small packs sitting on top of them. Each pack has the District's number on it. Katniss takes one step out from the bushes towards the table when suddenly, the redheaded girl comes sprinting out of the cornucopia. She must have been hiding in there.

"That girl is really quick and clever!" I think to myself.

The girl snatches her pack and quickly leaves. Katniss checks to makes sure she's all clear, and then runs to grab her pack. Once she's got it, she makes for the woods when suddenly a knife comes flying at her and hits her in the head right above her eye.

"Katniss!" I shout and stand up from the table. Quin grabs my hand and I sit back down. My mom is crying and Gale is muttering, "Come on, Catnip."

Blood is pouring into her eye as she stumbles backward from the hit. Clove, the girl who threw the knife, knocks Katniss to the ground. The two are rolling around on the ground and Clove is trying to stab Katniss. They stop rolling when Clove is on top of Katniss. She has one foot on Katniss' hand and the knife against her throat.

"Where's loverboy? Oh I see, you were gonna help him, right? That's sweet. It's just too bad you couldn't help your little friend. That little girl, what was her name again, Rue? Yeah, well we killed her. And now, we're gonna kill you!" Clove says with an angry look in her eyes.

All four of us watching are holding our breath.

Suddenly, Thresh snatches Clove up by her shirt.

"YOU KILLED HER?"

"NO! NO! PLEASE!" Clove begs.

"YOU KILLED RUE? I HEARD YOU SAY HER NAME!" He is banging her against the outside shell of the cornucopia.

"CATO! CATO!" She screams for help but it's no use. With one final slam, the girl's neck snaps and she is dead when Thresh drops her body to the ground.

Katniss is still laying on the ground looking up at him, terrified.

"Just this once, 12. Just this once! For Rue." he says before taking off into the woods.

Katniss jumps to her feet and runs back to the cave.

"I got it! Peeta, the medicine. I got it." She says while opening the pack.

"What happened to you?" he sits up quickly and points to her head.

"The girl from two." she says and opens the medicine.

"You said you wouldn't go!" Peeta is clearly upset with her.

"Yeah, well you got worse." she applies the medicine to his leg and isn't gentile about it.

"Ahh!.. That feels a lot better. You need some too." he tells her.

"No, I'm fine-" Peeta cuts her off.

"No. You need some too. You took care of me, now let me take care of you." he puts the medicine on her head and they both lay down to sleep.

The night is pretty quiet and the next morning we see that Peeta's and Katniss' wounds are almost completely healed.

They go out to hunt for food. Katniss goes to hunt and Peeta goes to pick whatever he can find.

We watch Katniss walking though the woods and aiming her arrow at a bird. Just as she's about to shoot, the sound of the cannon goes off.

"PEETA!" Katniss and I both shout at the same time. Katniss runs to where she left him and she sees his jacket. It's got a pile of berries on it.

"Nightlock." my mom whispers.

"PEETA?" Katniss runs until she slams into someone. It's Peeta and he's holding the berries.

"THAT'S NIGHTLOCK, PEETA! YOU'LL BE DEAD IN A MINUTE!" she says while tossing the berries from his hand. Peeta looks confused.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know!" he says.

"Damn you!" Katniss says as she hugs him. They find that the person whose died was the redheaded girl who they called Foxface.

"I didn't even know she was following me." Peeta exclaims.

"She's clever, that girl." Katniss says. She picks up some of the berries from Foxface's hand and Peeta grabs her wrist.

"What are you doing!" He sasy.

"Maybe Cato likes berries too." Katniss says with a smirk.

They decide to head to the cornucopia. As they're walking it starts to get very dark.

"What time do you think it is?" Peeta asks Katniss.

"Around noon.. But they must be in a hurry to end it." she replies.

Suddenly, a strange sound is made not too far from where they are. This sound was like a pack of animals and a human scream.

"What was that?" Peeta asks, clearly frightened.

"It's the finale." Katniss says. A cannon sounds and they see that Thresh has died. They both feel bad, but they're glad they didn't have to kill him.

"Now it's just them and Cato." Quin says. He's very concentrated on the tv.

Katniss and Peeta try to navigate themselves through the dark to the cornucopia and they hear the sound of running. The thing is loud and it's running right for them.

Katniss has her bow and arrow ready to shoot when out jumps a huge mutt! It's claws are long and could easily slice right through them.

My mom and I scream when the mutt jumps out.

Katniss shoots her arrow directly through it's head, but it keeps running away from them. Then they hear more of them coming. Peeta and Katniss run as fast as they can, Peeta slightly limping from his still injured leg. But he doesn't lag behind. They make it to the cornucopia and Peeta hoists Katniss up. She helps him up just as the mutts are trying to bite and rip Peeta's legs. Katniss gets him up and they take a deep breath and let it out.

"LOOK OUT!" I scream as Cato swings his huge fist at the back of Peeta's head. Peeta is tossed to the side and Cato goes for Katniss. Chocking her and dangling her over the side. The mutts jumping hungrly at Katniss' head.

My mom and I are crying and Gale's hands are into tight fists. Quin's hand is shaking in mine.

Peeta comes up from behind Cato and lifts him over his shoulder, freeing Katniss. The two boys fight. Throwing punches and trying to push one another off the edge. Finally, Cato has Peeta in a headlock. Katniss is pointing her arrow at Cato.

"Go ahead! Shoot, and we both go down and you win. Go on. I'm dead anyway. I always was, right? I couldn't tell that until now. How's that, is that what they want? I can still do this... I can still do this. One more kill. It's the only thing I know how to do, bringing pride to my district. Not that it matters." Cato says. He continues to talk but Katniss is no longer listening.

Peeta points one finger at the back of Cato's hand and Katniss knows what he's telling her to do. She reaims quickly, and shoots his hand. Cato lets go of Peeta, and Peeta pushes him off of the cornucopia. The mutts tearing him apart. We hear Cato cry out "Please! Please!" and with that, Katniss shoots him and he dies instantly. The mutts leaving him and going back to the woods.

"They did it... They won.. THEY WON! THEY WON!" I start screaming and my mom is crying. Gale is taking heavy sighs of relief and then we hear it.

"The former game change stating that 2 tributes from the same district could win has been... Revoked."

"Shit." Gale says.

Katniss is holding her arrow and she drops it to the ground and takes out the barries.

"What are you doing? They have to have a winner." Peeta says.

"No. They don't. Why should they?" Katniss says. She puts some berries in Peeta's hand and keeps the rest in hers.

"Trust me." she says to him.

"NO!" I cry out.

"On three?" Peeta asks. Katniss nods.

"One." says Peeta.

"Two." says Katniss, and Peeta touches the end of her braid the way Quin once did to me.

"Three." they both say as they raise the berries to their mouths.

We all hold our breath.

"STOP! STOP!" shouts the announcer. "Ladies and Gentleman, the winners of the 74th Hunger Games. Miss Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark."

"THEY WON! THEY WON! THEY REALLY WON!" All of us are standing up, hugging and crying. Even Gale is rubbing a few tears from his eyes. My mom gives me the biggest hug and kiss and tells me she's so thankful.

The tv program ends and is just showing highlights. We turn it off and go out into town. Quin's still holding my hand as we walk. People are coming out of their houses and as we walk by, they clap for us and they cheer. They run up to us, giving us hugs and words of love, thankfulness, and encouragement.

"I can't wait to get those two heroes back home where they belong!" says a woman in the crowd that's gathering around us.

"I cried and cried through these past two days, girl." an older woman says to me. "I was scared that your sister wasn't going to ever come back. Then where would we be?.. Where would you be?" she says and then pats my back.

Everyone is talking to my mom and saying how proud they are. Quin pulls me aside and I know he wants to go to our spot at the meadow. We walk there away from all of the noise. My mom won't mind me being gone for a few minutes. We get there and He sits on the boulder next to me.

"I told you she could do it." He says with a big smile on his face.

"You were right! My sister and her boyfriend, the winners of the Hunger Games.. Wow. My dad would be so proud of her." I say while letting a few tears slide down my cheeks.

Quin brushes them away with the hand that isn't holding mine.

"Your dad is very proud." he says. And then he kisses me on the cheek.

"Quin..."

"Yeah, Prim?" he says.

"Thank you for everything." his face turns a little pink as he smiles and he says, "Come on. We'd better get back."

Three days later**

"Katniss and Peeta are coming home today!" I say while bouncing on my mom's bed. I'd just had a bath, so my wet hair was sticking to my face and neck while making wet spots on my nice shirt.

"I know! I know! Now sit still, you silly thing! I can't brush your hair with you bouncing like that!" she says though giggles.

I sit at the foot of the bed and let her brush and braid my hair. Still in two french braids, just the way it was when I last saw Katniss.

When she's finished she kisses my head and says, "Are you going to tell Katniss about you and your little friend, Quin?" she's got a mischevious smile on her face.

"I'm going to tell her that he's my friend and he's been here for me through all of this, if that's what you mean." I say, trying not to turn pink.

"Don't think I don't know why he holds your hand, Primrose." she nudges my arm. "He likes you!"

"Does not, Mom! We're just friends!" I say as I walk out of her room and into the kitchen. We have to be in town in 25 minutes so we can be here when the train arrives. I'm so excited to see her that I'm trying not to cry. After breakfast we leave for town. Gale and Quin come with us.

"There are already so many people here!" Quin says when we get there. When people see it's us, they clap and cheer. We can hear the train in the distance and people start cheering loudly. Quin gives me a hug and I kiss him on the cheek. Gale lifts me up and sets me on his shoulders.

"Ladies and Gentlemen on District 12... The WINNERS OF THE 74TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!"

The crowd is wild. They throw flowers on the stage as my sister and Peeta walk out. We blow kisses and shout kind words to them. Katniss' eyes meet mine and I can see that she gasps at the sight of me. I blow her a quick kiss and her smile becomes wider. My mom is crying.

After 20 minutes, Katniss and Peeta are driven to their new homes in the Victor's Village. My mom and I, and the Mellarks are driven there too.

We get out of the car as they do and I run as fast as I can to my sister.

"Katniss!" I can't help but cry when I finally reach her. Her arms are so warm and inviting.

"Look at you!" Katniss says to me. "You've grown so much since I last saw you a few weeks ago!" she lets go of me and hugs my mom.

"I have?" I ask, still crying.

"Of course you have, Little Duck!" she says as she kisses my forehead. "I'm never leaving you again!" She says as she tickles my sides.

"Ha ha! Hey!" I laugh and hug her once more.

The Peace Keepers and the Mayor welcome us to our new homes. Katniss is presented with a key, as is Peeta. Our families go inside and we look at our new rooms. I hear Katniss talking to my mom in the other room.

"You did well." she says to mom.

"So did you." mom replies.

"Gale kept you all fed?"

"He did. And Prim's little friend kept her happy for the most part."

I walk into the room before she can say anymore about Quin.

"Mom tells me you've got a new friend, Little Duck." She says while reaching out to hold my hand.

"I do... And I'll tell you about him later. You can even meet him, but right now I'd like to go give Peeta a hug for taking care of you while I couldn't." I say with a smile. Katniss nods and I run over next door to Peeta's.

"Hey Prim!" he says when he opens the door. I hug him. "You can come in!" he says.

"No wait.. Can I ask you something really quickly?" I ask.

"Sure! What is it?" he replies with a smile.

" Well, first I want to thank you for taking care of her for me." I say.

"Well, that's no problem. And if you were watching the show, you'd know that she mostly took care of me!" he says with a laugh.

"Yeah but Peeta.. You motivated her to succeed after Rue died. She needed a motivator."

"Ohh. Yeah, well, I guess!" he says in a silly tone.

"And I wanted to ask you if... If you really love her. And not like a friend. Like real love. I saw the way you looked at her before the games, and then all those other times too. And you said you have a crush on her, and you did ever since your were little." I ask.

"Prim.. Can I tell you a secret?" he asks quietly.

"Yes."

"I love her. Like real love. She is my friend, but when I say that I love her, I mean the real kind of love." he says and he pats me on the shoulder.

"Thanks Peeta." I say and then he bends down and hugs me.

"But Prim.. This is a secret." he reminds me.

"But doesn't Katniss already know?" I ask.

"She doesn't know all of it like you do." he winks.

"I won't tell anyone." I smile.

When I leave Peeta's, I go to our new home and Katniss is sitting at the table.

"Prim, do you want to go home with me to get some stuff so we can sleep here tonight? Mom is going to stay here."

"Yes." I answer and I grab her hand. As we walk home, I tell her all about Quin and what happened while she was gone. I even tell her a little bit about Gale's attutide during The Games. She doesn't seem surprised by it.

"I saw Gale today." She says. "He and I are going hunting this Sunday. But for now, I want to spend all of my time with you, Little Duck!" she tickles me again as we walk back to our old home.

"I swear you've gotten so much bigger in the past month or however long I was gone! I'm going to have to start calling you, Bigger Little Duck!" she says jokingly.

"Katniss.. I missed you so much. I was so scared-" she cuts me off and stops walking. She bends down to my face and says,

"We'll have time for sad talk later. Right now, I just want to hold onto you before you get any bigger." she says while hugging me. We start walking again.

"I love you so much, Katniss."

"I love you so much more, Little Duck."

The End.


End file.
